Fluid heater



June 28, 1949.

Filed oct. 29, 1947 B. E. MUSTEE FLUID HEATER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Qwm w m@ June 28, 1949. B, E. MUSTEE 2,474,401

FLUID. HEATER Filed Oct. 29, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

BERNARD E. MU STEE.

- tion of the heating coils and burner.

Patented June 28, 1949 UNITED srAras 'PATENT orslce FLUm naam Bernard E. Mustee, Cleveland, Ohio. lassigner to Mustee and Sonnino., a corporation el Application 0mm 2s, im, sam Ns. man 1 claim. (cl. isf-ssc) An object or this invention is to provide a' heater system wherein the temperature responsive member is immersed in the stream of uld being heated.

Another object of this invention is to provide a self-contained heater system adapted to respondl to the temperature oi' duid entering the system, and thereby apply a controlled intensity of heat to the fluid.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a complete heater and thermostatic control system requiring only iluid conduit attachments to a water tank and heat yenergy'connections to completely install the system with the tank to maintain the fluid in the tank at a Dreselected temperature.

A still further object of this invention is to place the temperature responsive device in the stream of iluid within the heating area, in order that the heat may beturned oil.' in the event that a stoppage of iiuid i'low causes the temperature within the coil to become excessive.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of my invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a 45 view of a heater coil and jacket employing a thermostatic control according to the principles of this invention; and

Figure 2 is a side view of a heater coil and jacket with portions of the jacket broken away to illustrate the provision of this invention.

Fluid heaters, such for example as hot water heaters for domestic use. have been in use in various forms for a considerable period of time. These heaters are generally external of the storage tank, and comprise a coil having conduits to and from the tank, and -a source of heat, such for example as a gas llame, below the coll. More recently, thermostatic control has been developed to turn the source of heat on or of! in accordance with the temperature within the storage tank. Generally, this thermostatic control includes a thermostat located on the side of the storage tank and extending into the i'luid within the tank. The location of the thermostat is usually on the side of the tank opposite the loca- Gas lines are extended around the storage tank to the burner element from the thermostatic control. This arrangement, of course, has required the installation of the heater unit, the separate installation oi' the thermostatic control unit, and the installation of gas conducting tubings from the thermostatic control to the burner unit around or beneath the storage tank. Such an installation is an individual installation job for each-unit. Furthermore, all gas connections to and from the thermostat and the heater unit are subject to the variable conditions prevailing at the site of installation. In many instances. when parts are not brought along to the installation Job, or some part ory parts inadvertently are misconstructed and thereioregdo not ilt properly, improvisions are made on the Job, and these improvisions usually result in inferior and sometimes dangerous heating systems.

The heater andcontrol system illustrated in the accompanying drawing provide a compact single unit assembly which may be put together at the factory and installed with a water tank simply by attaching the usual `fluid conduit and heat supply lines.

In the drawings, a heater housing Il is illustrated, and is provided with a coil Il. The housing il is of a modern improved type. and the coil Il is of a double-coil type which has proven very eiilcient in service, but this housing and coil, along with the other related structure pertaining to the operation of heating the iluid in the coil Il, may be of any suitable design. This invention deals with the control of the application of thermal energy to the coil il, and not with the construction of the coil, the burner, or the housing. In the heater illustrated, a burner l2 adapted to burn natural or artiiicial gas is illustrated. In this instance, again, the illustration of gas heat is only for the purpose of setting forth the environment of the invention, and may readily be replaced with oil, electricity, or any othersuitable heating means.

In this invention, an intake conduit 2| extends in ya transverse direction relative to the housing il and the general direction in which the coil 4,5 to place the coil Il in nuid communication with the conduit 2i. In the Figure 2 of the drawings, kone of the tubes of the coil Il has been broken away to illustrate the opening into the coil header 22. The type of thermostat control il chosen to 50 be illustrated in the drawings, includes an expansible member I l and a valve Ii operable by longitudinal expansion and contraction of the expansible member il. The expansible member il is inserted longitudinally within the intake con- 55 duit 2|, and the valve I5 is joined to the end of the intake conduit 2i by a watertight thread engagement as illustrated by the reference character 2l. Thus. the thermostat control I2 provides a gas control valve i! externally of the w duid stream. and a temperature responsive membe responsive to a temperature within an unrelated portion of the storage tank. Thus, the intensity of heat appliedy to the coil II will be governed by the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of the fluid actually circulating through the coil I I.

The valve Il and the expansible member Il illustrated, operate ir response to the tempera-` ture of the surroundings in which the expansible member Il is placed to close oil.' or open the supply of gas to the burner I2. Also, the valve I5 illustrated is adapted to control the supply of gas to a pilot valve for the burner I2. As best illus- Y 4 large percentage oi when this water is heated, some of those solids precipitate from solution.. This precipitation takes placeglaraely inthe heat exchanger coil.

For this reason, with prior devices. the heater assembly must be disassembled periodically and flushed out.

With the `arrangement of parts as set forth in'4 this invention, the conduit 2| is opened by removal of the thermostat control I3. and a brush may be inserted to clean out the precipitated trated in Figure 1, a pilot 21 is supplied with fuel from the valve I5 by a pilot line I9.v A pilot Vthermocouple 28 is positioned beside the pilot 21 from the valve I5 through the burner line I8, and

-air is admitted to the burner I2 by means of a mixer 30. Gas is supplied to the valve I5 through the gas line I1, and the temperature at which the valve I5 will respond to open and close the supply of gas through the burner line Il may be manually preselected by operation of an adjusting knob I6. As provided in the usual heater. the exhaust gases from the burner I2 are directed over the coil II and exhaust from the heater housing I0 through a gas exhaust -25 to a convenient chimney. The heated iiuid from the coil II likewise exhausts through an outlet conduit 2l.

Y From the description of this invention andthe figures of the drawings, it may readily` be seen that this improved heater system is self-contained and may thereby be quickly and easily attached to a storage tank or to a fluid line. The control is responsive to the temperature of the fluid entering the system, and notvto anindependent temperature at an unrelated position in the storage tank. Furthermore, when factory assembled, this control and heating system may be rigorously `tested to assure safety andA serviceable assembly.

It is to be particularly stressed, that the location of the expansible member'is in the heating area. Therefore, if for any reason the circulation of fluid is stopped, or the fluid is drained from the system, ther heat will never become excessive. In the installations that employ a remotely located thermostat, the coil could be damaged beyond repair by excessive heat, and the temperature responsive member would remain cool. 'I'he thermostat control I 3, includingvalve' I 5 and expansible member-I4, as previously stated, are secured to the header 22 at the `luncture indicated by reference character 23.1V The control I3 may therefore be removed, and thev conduit 2| will then vbe accessible for cleaning. n v

In heating systems prior tothis invention, the conduit 'leadingto the lower portion of the coil I I is closed and inaccessible. Itis an established fact that ordinary city or well Water contains a Amatter. l complished with a minimum of time and enort. v

'I'his operation is quickly and easily ac- Although this invention has been described in its preferred form'witha certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing `from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is: y

Fluid heater means comprising, fuel combustion' burner means, water-conducting coil means mounted above said burner means, an intake manifold including Va conduit having an entrance end and a coil header end, ,said coil header end having -coil attachment means securing said coil means in iluidfconducting relationship with .said coil header gend, said coil means deilning a water-conducting path continuously spiraling downward to said intake manifold'and providing a slide through which solid foreign 'matter can slide down into said intake manifold, said coil header end forming a longitudinal continuation of Vsaid conduit portion lsubstantiallyr along a longitudinal axis common to said conduit portion and said header end, said coil header end having an axial opening,` fuel-flow ,control means removably closing said axial opening and having a mimi:ENCES CITED 'I'he following referenlces are of vrecord in the file of this patent:

UNrrEnsrA'rEs PATENTS Number Name Date 624,903 Borne et al. May 16, 1899 861,565 White July 30, 1907 906,357 Ziegler Dec. 8, 1908 929,081 Enterline July 27, 1909 1,031,226 Arnoldet al. July 2, 1912 1,194,398 Langenheim Aug. 15, 1916 1,312,724 Fisher Aug. 12, 1919 1,815,723 Morrow July 21,1931 1,817,549 Evans Aug. 4, 1931 1,817,615Y Friedman Aug. 4, 1931 1,839,392' Humphrey Jan. 5, 1932 1,868,186 Ackron July 19, 1932y 2,003,579 Conant June 4, l1935 2,033,904 Johnson et al. Mar. 10, 1936 y 2,154,683 Kerrick Apr. 18, 1939 2,179,496 Czeschin Nov. 14, 1939 2,215,520 Burklin Sept. 24, 1940 2,290,637

`Dunham July .21, 1942 dissolved sonas and gases.' 

